NEW BRUNSWICK  The luxury housing and office tower under
construction at the corner of Paterson and Spring streets
grows with each passing week.

By the end of this week,
Spring Street Plaza will have reached 20 stories, surpassing
both Johnson & Johnson's world headquarters and Skyline
Tower.

The project's impact to the city's skyline is
already apparent, even before it reaches its final height of
257 feet.

But the project's developers, Boraie
Development, downplay the height of the 23-story building
designed by Costas Kondylis and Partners of
Manhattan.

"We're not fixated on the height," said
Wasseem Boraie, the company's vice president. "We're fixated
on the fact that it's going to be a great
building."

Besides, Boraie said, the title of tallest
building is a fleeting honor, and one that can always be
nabbed by the next developer.

"Someone might come along
next year and build a taller tower," Boraie said, perhaps
alluding to plans to construct the Gateway building, a
330-foot tower proposed for the corner of Easton Avenue and
Somerset Street.

Construction on the $50 million Spring
Street Plaza is expected to finish this fall, and the building
will open by the end of the year, Boraie said.

The building will house ground-floor retail and three
levels  35,000 square feet  of commercial space. The
building's top 19 stories will be devoted to 121 one-, two-
and three-bedroom condominiums.

Developers have said
the building's condos are expected to fetch between $250,000
and $500,000.

Boraie declined to name any commercial
tenants or to say whether any of the building's condominiums
had been spoken for.

"We've gotten a lot of calls, but
right now we're focused on construction," said
Boraie.

Residents of 1 Spring St. will have use of a
health club, an indoor swimming pool and a 422-spot parking
deck. A terrace will rest atop the seven-story parking deck
facing Church Street and feature a dog run, playground and
gardens.

The terrace will function as a private park
for the building's residents, Boraie said.

"It's a
place where you can come home and just relax," Boraie said.
"You don't have to go out to a park. You'll have your own
park."

Despite the construction of an estimated 600
market-rate units in the city over the past several years,
Boraie said the demand for luxury housing remains strong and
that the building and the city would draw willing
buyers.

"People will gravitate toward a great building
 and a great city," Boraie said.